The gross files

I interrupt the blogging hiatus with breaking news from one of my cats. Evidently Bennie has a hairball or something since he's gagging an heaving a bit. Unfortunately he is still hungry, so he was eating food, then spitting a bit up, then eating it again. Gross, huh?

Or maybe it's Feline bulemia? He's historically been unconcerned about his figure, and I doubt he's slimming down for swimsuit season. Lately though, some people have been calling him fat, so maybe that has sparked body image issues.

On a more serious note: ever since we've moved (about 10 days ago), he's also had an urge to use the litterbox 3-4 times an hour. I'm hoping it has something to do with the move/exposure to a new cat and not anything like the recent food poisoning in cats. Of course we checked his food against the recall list, but when I read lines like this:

Sundlof said the FDA had not found any studies of melamine in cats, and the results of only a single 1945 study that tested it on dogs. That study suggested the chemical increased urine output when fed to dogs in large amounts.

I worry the contamination might be more distributed than the pet food suppliers are letting on. It's time for a vet visit.

Adjusting to changes...

So I recently moved most of my belongings from my house to an already occupied 1-bedroom (on the Upper East Side of Manhattan). My cat is slowly adjusting to the environment, though fiancee's cat has a bit of trouble coping with the idea of shared territory. The fiancee herself was keen to share territory - but perhaps not equally (at least when it comes to closet space). It's been a challenge finding space for all my shit.

On top of that, I've started a new job this week, and I really like it. This is my first job at the PhD level, and I was hired for my "expertise" in two fairly esoteric fields. That having been said, when you're hired into a job with a backlist of problems that have been awaiting the new PhD engineer, you quickly discover how little you know and how much you have to learn (and, oh, by the way, your project was supposed to be done a month ago).

The big downside of the job is that it's two hours away each way. I get up at 5 AM to get into work by 7:30, and don't get home before 7. That's kinda sucky.

So on top of unpacking, and the eternal commuting, and trying to learn my new job, I'm trying to get my house fixed in Philly to sell. I'll be going down tis weekend...that's a 3+1/2 hr trip on my day off. But hey it's less than my daily commute. When I get back Sunday, we're going to go get a entertainment center from a 5th floor walk-up.

Anyway, that's life. Blogging may be light for like...the forseeable future.